Coke-oven door mechanism



I June 10, 1941. R, B 2,244,671

' coKE-pvsN DQOR MECHANISM Filed Dec. 2a, 1956 2 Sheets- Sheet 1INVENTORS. RflG/YAR BERG, and GUSTAF EDW/IYSHLKV/SI ATTORNEY.

Patented June 10, 1941 COKE-OVEN DOOR MECHANISM Ragnar Berg and GustafEdwin Salkvist, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Koppers Company, acorporation of Delaware Application December 23, 1936, Serial No.117,270

Claims.

The present invention relates to coking retort ovens and more especiallyto improvements in the latching means employed for supporting andretaining in the mouths of coking retort ovens the doors employed toseal the coking chambers from the outside atmosphere during thecarbonization period.

An object of th present invention is the provision of a device forsupporting and effecting the.

movement of the latch-bars of coke oven doors which is an improvementover those formerly employed in the art and which provides means forautomatically regulating the stress that can be established between thelatch-bars and the latch-hooks, and also, in consequence of suchregulation, provides means for automatically limiting the. pressure withwhich the sealing edge of the door and the door-frame are brought intocontact when said door is adjusted into operating position in the ovenmouth.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of theafore-mentioned type that is especially adapted to be actuated bymechanical means such as is for example disclosed in the co-pendingpatent of one of us applied for on May 1, 1936, and assigned S/N 77,311,said device having provisions for adjusting the position of thelatch-bars in respect of the doors and other'improvements for protectingthe sealing frames of doors, for example of the self-sealing type, fromdamage and permanent distortion which may occur as the result ofemploying excessive force on the latch-tightening means, and as will beevident from the hereinafter given description thereof.

Coke oven door latches are generally rotatably mounted on a pivottherefor on the door and also for a relative movement between the doorand latch, in a direction inward and outward in respect of the door andin planes normal thereto in order to provide for tightening andloosening of the latches for the door. Hook means are provided to arrestthem in their outward movement and the pressure established between thelatchbars and said hooks is transmitted through their pivots to the doorand provides the force required to move the door into sealing positionagainst the door-frame attached to the oven face-plates. Releasing thestress between the latch-bars and the door-hooks relieves the pressurebetween the door and door-frame and allows said bars to be disengagedfrom said hooks and leaves the doors free to be removed from the ovenmouth. This movement of the latch-bars has generally been provided inthe prior art by means of threaded pins on which the latch-bars weremounted by means of a bore provided either with threads'that co-actedwith those of said threaded pins, or the bore was unthreaded, and inthis latter instance the threaded section of the latchsupporting pineo-actedwith the threads of a supporting bracket ailixed to the door,but in both instances the stress between the latch-bars and latch-hooksresulted from pressure established between the threads of the latch-barpins and their co-acting threads, and as is appreciated by thoseexperienced in the art," the application of excessive torque -to thisthreaded pin may result in permanent distortion of the sealing edges.Consequently and more especially for those instances where it ispreferred to actuate the latchbars by mechanical means, a device thatwill limit the amount of pressure that can be developed between thelatch-bars and the doorhooks, irrespective of the magnitudeof the powersource, will be an advantageous contribution to the art.

According to the present invention, the latchbars are held against thelatch-hooks by means of spring pressure instead of pressure establishedbetween two or more co-acting threaded members, said spring beingpositioned between the door and the latch-bars and so disposed inrespect of them that the resistance of said spring to compression isemployed to hold the latchbars against the door-hooks, and the transferof that resistance from the latch-bars leaves them free for easydisengagement from the latch-hooks, so that the oven door may beconveniently removed from the oven mouth. According to the presentinvention the latch-bars are also adjustably disposed in respect of thelatch-spring so that the pressure imposed on the latches by said springsmay be at all times maintained within preferred limits and excessivepressures avoided by simple and effective means. The invention has forfurther objects such other improvements and such other operativeadvantages or results as may be found to obtain in the processes orapparatus hereinafter described or claimed.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification andshowing for purposes of exemplification a preferred apparatus in whichthe invention may be embodied and practised but without limiting theclaimed invention specifically'to such illustrative instance orinstances:

Figure 1 is a front view in elevation of a coke oven door of theself-sealing type provided with a latch actuating means constructedinlhccofdance with the present invention;

. Figure 2 is a vertical section taken along the line II-JI of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken in a plane indicatedbythe line Ill-J11 -of Figure l and showing a section of a cokev ovendoor and a latching device constructed according to the principle of thepresent improvement and showing a preferred embodiment thereof;

Figure 4 is also a fragmentary horizontal section taken through a cokeoven door and a latching device embodying the basic idea of the instantimprovement but showing an alternative and more simple form thereof thanshown in of the so-called self-sealing type for the purpose of thepresent description, although it is understood that the fundamentalprinciple involved is applicable to a wide variety of coke oven doors,the door ID with the strengthening rib II is shown adjacent to the faceplate I! that covers the jamb brick l3 of the heating wall. The faceplate is supported against the jamb brick by the buckstay l4 that alsoserves as a vertical supporting and retaining means for the masonry ofthe heating wall of which jamb bricks form the end of each tier. Theinner edge of the flanged face plate I2 is formed as. a plane surface l5which extends entirely around the periphery of the oven mouth into whichthe refractory plug I 6, attached to the door I 0, is inserted duringthe carbonization period. The plane edge of the door-frame, which isseparated from the refractory jamb brick by refractory packing materiall1. co-acts with the flexible sealing edge I B attached to the ovendoor, when the latter is adjusted into position in the oven mouth. toform seal against the escape of distillation products through the spacebetween the refractory plug and the jamb brick.

' Attached to the flange of the face plate I? is the latch-hook I 9 thatis adapted to engage the latch-bar 20, and pressure established betweenthese two members provides the force required 1 32 by bolts .35. A smallsection of sleeve 82 is furnished with a section having smaller diameterthan the remainder, said section being cut with a coarse thread 36,preferably a double thread of the so-called Acme type. At its outer endand on the outer surface thereof said sleeve is threaded so that thethreaded ring 8'! can be screwed thereon where it is prevented fromturning by set-screw 38 that serves as a Dutch key. Rotatably mounted onthe sleeve 32 is a shorter sleeve or ring-like member 39 that isrecessed to to seat the oven door in the mouth of the cokin Figures 3and 4 the bracket 25 is shown mounted on the door I (i by bolts 28. Thepin 21, threaded at one end. is screwed into bracket 25 and is securedfrom turning by set-screw 28. At the inner end of pin 21 a collar 29 isprovided, between which and slideable washer $0 is confined the helicalspring 3| that is mounted onthe rigidly'held pin 21. The washer 30 isloosely mounted on said pin and is free to be moved under pressure ofspring 3! along its lengthwise axis. That portion 33 of pin 21 betweenits supporting bracket and collar 29 is preferably square incross-section. Flanged sleeve 32 is adapted to ride on collar 29 andwasher 30, and is kept from turning on pin 21 by plate 36 that isprovided with a square hole adapted to ride on squared section 33 ofsaid pin. Plate at is bolted to --the flange at the inner end of sleevereceive the smaller ring 31, around which I! is adapted to rotatefreely. Plate 40 is attached to the ring-like member 39 by the bolts 4|and at its center has a square hole. The crank arm 45 forms an integralpart of plate 40 in Figure 3.

Within that section of sleeve 32 between threads 36 and plate 40 ispositioned a short helical spring 42 having a coil diameter slightlyless than the diameter of said sleeve.

The member 43 is a hollow hub-like part substantially round at its innerend where it is suitably provided with threads that are adapted toengage the threads 36 of the slideable sleeve 32 when said hub isrotated. The middle section of member 43 is of such cross-section as topass easily through the coil of spring 42 and to travel preferably alsowithout friction through the central square opening of plate 40. Whereasthe member 43 at its inner section is essentially circular incross-section, the middle section and outer end are square 'and both areadapted to be received into the square hole perforating plate 40 and theattached crank 45; by suitable rotation of said crank, the member 43 canbe caused to travel inwardly or outwardly within the threads 36. At theend opposite that attached to the door bracket, a washer 46 of somewhatgreater diameter than the adjacent portion of pin 21 is provided andheld immobile against said pin by the nut 41. The fixed washer 46 servesto arrest and consequently limit the outward travel'of moveable washer30 that is always under more or less pressure from helical spring 3|.

1 The latch-bar 20 is rotatably mounted on sleeve 32 and its spatialrelationship in respect of the latch-hooks l9 and likewise its preferredposition on said sleeve, may be adjusted by proper disposition of thewashers 48. These washers are provided in a variety of thicknesses sothat by selectively arranging them on one side or another of thelatch-bar, the position of the latter relative to the oven door It) canbe addusted within small limits. These washers as shown in Figure 5 arehorseshoe shaped and are kept from turning by forming them each with alug which is adapted to engage groove 54 provided for the purpose on theexterior surface of sleeve 32. as shown in Fig. 5, and shown in Figs. 3and 4 of the drawings by dotted and dashed lines that are degrees out ofthe plane of the horizontal sections. In consequence of theirconfiguration;

the washers 48 can be removed or interchanged without disassembling thelatching device.

As aforementioned the crank 45 is fixedly mounted on plate 40, in Figure3, and is provided for rotating hub 43 by mechanical means. The

- hub may however be turned by hand if preferred and by any suitablydesigned cranking means adapted to fit that portion of the hub extendingbeyond. crank 45 and provided for that purpose. The arm 49 is adaptedfor rotation around the median axis of the latching means by mechanicalpower. Rotatably attached to the arm 4! is the member 50 which isoonically shaped at one end so that in such instances as the arm 4| isbrought into operating position for turning said crank 45 and these twomembers happen to abut each other end' to end, the conical surface of IIwill nevertheless guide said arm over the inclined side surfaces ii ofthe crank and allow the two members to come into lateral contact.

As will be noted in the accompanying fi ures. the oven door is inoperating position and seals the mouth of the coking chamber, and theflexible sealing edge II is in slight pressure contact with the surfaceII where it is held by pressure of the latch-rod 2. against the doorhooks I. which pressure in turn results from the pressure of the springll against washer 30 that is disposed to slide over pin 21. Thispressure of the spring on 30 is transmitted to hub 48, thence to threads38 of sleeve 32 thereby exerting a force that tends to move said sleeveoutward from the by the latch-hooks forces the sealing-edge i. of "theoven door into pressure contact with the door-frame surface II. Itshould be noted that the latch-bar is preferably so disposed on sleevemember 32 of the invention by means of the transposable washers ll thatwhen the oven door is in, closed, sealed and latched position,thethreads of hub 43 have preferably just been completely run throughthreads as of the sleeve member. With this preferred disposition of thelatch on said sleeve, said hub may be subjected to any amount of furtherrotation without increasing the pressure between the latch-bar and thelatch-hooks or between the sealing erke and frame, of the door. Thisfeature is of great advantage when it is preferred to operate the restedwhile said hub is still contained within threads it if the latch-barshave been sumciently removed from contact with the latch-hooks, but forthose instances where said hub is moved mechanically, it may occur thatthe actuating means will not always be stopped at precisely the samepoint and crank 65 may be rotated sui'liciently to pass the hubcompletely through said threads. In such event helical spring 42 will becompressed between plate ll and the hub. The pressure of spring 42 willthen later operate to force and direct the threads of the hub into thoseof the sleeve when the former is rotated in a direction .to effectsuchre-engagement. The threaded portions of the hub and sleeve arerelatively short and consequently can travel only a comparatively shortdistance in respect of each other. Excessive compression of the springson either side of the threaded section of the sleeve is oblatchactuating means from a power source, since it affords protection forboth the latch and the sealing edge against excessive strains that mightotherwise result from over-driving the latch actuating means. To relievethe latchrod of the pressure of spring ll against it so that it may berotated about sleeve 32, and thereby disengaged from the door hooks thusleaving the door free for removal from the oven, the crank 45 is rotatedin a manner to cause the hub 43 to reengage threads 36 of the sleeve 32,which operation causes said hub to move outwardly and so allows thespring ii to expand against washer .urAs the hub continues to moveoutward followed by Washer 30 slidingover pin 21, moveable washer 30 iseventually arrested in its movement vibusly impossible for as soon asthe threaded members are disengaged from each other in either directionof travel, the hub may be rotated indefinitely without causing materialdamage. and the above-described improvement is therefore particularlyadvantageous for employment in coke-oven-installations where it isdesired to operate the latches by mechanical means.

The herein described improvement is also of special utility when used incombination with self-sealing doors, since it provides protectionagainst seating the flexible sealing edge against the door-frame withdamaging or distorting pressure when closing the coking chamber. Asindicated in the foregoing description, the washers provide means foradjusting the position they latch-bar will assume with respect to thelatch-hooks when the oven door is seated in the ote'n mouth; in otherwords, these washers can be used to limit the pressure that thelatch-bar will impress on the latch-hooks, and consequently the pressureof the door against the door frame. For example, it is apparent fromtheforegoing that the distance, through which the sleeve 12 and thelatch-bar mounted thereon will travel, is determined by the lengths ofthe threaded sections on said sleeve and hub 43.

' thicknesses can be so disposed on either side of 55. the latch-bar 20that said latch-bar will rest by washer It held rigidly against saidpinby nut pressure being applied thereto without havingestablished contactbetween the plate N and collar 29. In other words, the latch-rod and thesupporting sleeve member should ride on the spring pressure when thedoor is in closed position.

The outward movement of hub 0 may be arwhen said hub has been so rotatedthat it is moved in the direction of the door and has completely passedthrough threads 36, in which position it is shown in Figure 3, thesleeve will advance no further in the direction of the latch hooks. withthe sleeve and hub then in this relative position, the. washers 48 ofdifferent in only light contact with the latch hooks; or. the latch-barcan be moved further'outward along the sleeve and closer to thelatch-hooks by respectively removing washers from one side of thelatch-bar and inserting themon the other side thereof. In this mannermuch of the maximum pressure that can be exerted by the spring 3' may beused to impress the latch-bars on the latch hooks, or only a fractionthereof may be employed if preferred.

In Figure 4 is shown a latching device similar to that illustrated inFigure 3 and embodying the same basic idea but is an alternative formthereof that is considerably cheaper to construct. The 7 spring a inFigure which serves to assist huh designed for employment in combinationwith a limiting device which will shut off the source of power, used torotate thecrank 45, when the threaded portion of the hub 43 will havetraveled outwardly sufilolently to allow the latch-bar to be releasedfrom pressure contact with the latch-hooks. As is obvious this resultcan be effected without removing the threads of the hub from engagementwith those of the sleeve supporting the latch-bar.

In Figure 4 the latch is shown in tightened position and the hub 43 hasbeen so rotated as to carry its threads inwardly and completely out ofengagement with the threaded sleeve section 36. The latch-bar isconsequently held against the latch-hooks by the pressure of spring 3!which is transmitted through members 30, 43, 36, 32 and 48 to thelatch-bar. latches the hub 43 is moved outwardly until washer is flushagainst the face of Washer 46, and at that moment a limiting switch maybe used to cut-out the source of power used to rotate the hub-actuatingarm so that said hub need not of necessity be removed from thesleevethreads 32 to provide for easy disengagementof the latch-bar fromthe latch-hooks. In the event that the hub is rotated sufficiently toremove it from engagement with the sleeve threads, the long threadedsection at the outer end of pin 21, which is provided with a ductthrough which media are formed into the interior of the sleeve tolubricate the threaded members and the helical spring, will support thehub and prevent its falling out of the latching mechanism. The hub maythen be re-engaged by manual means if necessary.

The invention as hereinabove set forth is embodied in particular formand manner but may be variously embodied within the scope of the claimshereinafter made.

We claim:

1. A coke-oven door-mechanism for fastening a door fitted to the end ofa coking retort oven chamber to close and seal it against the outsideatmosphere, comprising: a latch-bar means for supporting and pressingsaid door into the end of said oven chamber, and a mechanism mountableon said door and adapted to support the latch-bar means and to providemovement therefor in a plane substantially normal to the door, saidmechanism comprising: a helical spring mountable on the door with itslongitudinal axis substantially perpendicular thereto; housing means forsaid spring that are slideably mounted in respect of said door andcommunicably connected with the latch-bar means for simultane- Inloosening the said mechanisms comprising: a helical spring mountable onthe door with its longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular thereto;housing means for said spring that are slidably mounted in respect ofsaid door and communicably connected with the latch-bar means forsimultaneous movement therewith; a slideable member operative to effectexpansion and contraction of said helical spring; and means foractuating said slideable member, said means comprising at least twothreaded and co-acting parts of which one is affixed to the housingmeans for the helical spring and the other is rotatably operative fromoutside the latching mechanism.

3. A coke-oven door-mechanism for fastening a door to fit the end of acoke oven chamber for closing it, comprising: latching means for thedoor disposed to move said door against the end of the chamber toprovide for its sealing, said latching means being adapted to move saiddoor longitudinally of said oven chamber, and comous movement therewith;a slideable member operative to effect expansion and contraction of saidhelical spring; and means for actuating said slideable member, saidmeans being also adapted to effect transmission of pressure of thespring to both the housing therefor and the communicably connectedlatch-bar means, so that changes in spring pressure occasioned bymovement of the slideable member will be impressed on the latch-barmeans.

2. A coke-oven door-mechanism for fastening a door fitted to the end ofa coking retort oven chamber to close and seal it against the outsideatmosphere, comprising: a latch-bar means for supporting and pressingsaid door into the end of said oven chamber, and a mechanism mountableon said door and adapted to support the latch-bar means and to providemovement there- ,for in a plane substantially normal to the door,

prising: latch-bar means mountable on said door for shiftabledisposition in respect thereof so that the relative positions of thelatch-bar means and the door may be altered selectively; meansindependent of said door for engaging the latchbar means; and a springmeans adaptedto provide pressure against said latch-bar means, means tocompress the spring means and to simultaneously increase the distancebetween latchbar means and the door, so that upon engagement of thelatch-bar means and the engaging means therefor the compressed springpressure will force said door in the direction of the coke oven chamber.

4. A coke-oven door-mechanism for fastening a door to fit the end of acoke oven chamber for closing it, comprising: latching means for thedoor disposed to move said door against the end of the chamber toprovide for its sealing, said latching means being adapted to move saiddoor longitudinally of said oven chamber, and comprising: latch-barmeans rotatably mbuntable on said door for shiftable disposition inrespect thereof so that the relative positions of the latch-bar meansand the door may be altered selectively; means independent of said doorfor engaging the latch-bar means; and a spring means adapted to providepressure against said latch-bar means, means to compress the springmeans and to simultaneously increase the distance between latch-barmeans and the door, so that upon engagement of the latch-bar means andthe engaging means therefor the compressed spring pressure will forcesaid door in the direction of the coke oven chamber.

5. A coke-oven door-mechanism for fastening a door at the opening of acoking retort oven chamber, comprising: latching means for supportingand pressing said door in said opening, said latching means comprisingthe combination of latch-bar means connected with the door;'

engaging means detached from the door that are adapted to receive thelatch-bar means; and means for moving the latch-bar means both into andout of contact with the engaging means therefor, and comprising: aspring member positioned between the latch-bar means and the door; andmeans adapted to impress pressure of the spring member on the latch-barmeans and to relieve the same of said pressure, said means comprising:at least two threaded members disposedfor engagement and of whichmembers the one is communicably connected with the latchbar means andthe other is adapted both to commechanism comprising: a helical springmountable on the door with its longitudinal axis substantiallyperpendicular thereto; a pin-like member of lesser diameter than saidspring and substantially co-axially disposed of said spring and adaptedto support the latching mechanism for the door; a sleeve slideablymounted on the pinlike member and adapted for movement lengthwise ofsaidpin; latch-bar means mounted on said sleeve and adapted for rotationin the plane of the door; a washer slideably mounted on the pin-likemember and adapted to restrict the movement of said helical springengthwise of said pin-like member, said washer ng capable of movementwithin said sleeve; a threaded section on the walls of said sleeve andadjacent the outer end thereof; and a hub provided with threads that aredisposed to co-act with the threads of said sleeve, said hub beingadapted to compress said spring and to relieve said compression whenrespectively rotated in opposite directions in. the sleeve-threads.

7. A coke-oven doormechanism for fastening as claimed in claim 6 and inwhich the latchbar means are adiustably disposed along the lengthwiseaxis of the supporting siideable sleeve thereior.

8. A coke-oven door-mechanism for fastening as claimed in claim 6 and inwhich mechanism spring members are disposed on each side of the threadedsection of the sleeve member supporting the latch-bar means, so that thethreaded hub is always under spring-pressure when the threads of the huband the sleeve are disengaged.

9. In a coking chamber having a door for closing said chamber againstthe atmosphere, inechanism for closing said door and retaining said doorlatched in closed position, comprising a latch-bar shiftably mounted byresilient means with respect to said door, the provision of a resilientcompressible member, and means for compressing it, disposed in suchrelation to said latch-bar and said door that said member is adapted byits compression to exert pressure on said latch-bar in a direction awayfrom said door and maintain resilient sealing pressure bea tween thedoor "and the frame, andadapted by its expansion, when relieved ofcompression by pressuresaid compression means, to relieve said on thelatch bar.

- 10.'A coking retort chamber according to claim 9, in which theresilient member is a spring, the pressure of said spring on saidlatch-bar being increased-or decreased by two threaded members disposedfor engagement the one with the other, the one being connected to saidlatch-bar and the other being adapted to compress or re-,

- engagement of said threaded members.

mama BERG. GUSTAE nowm SALKVIST.

